Google may have just unveiled its preliminary plans to bring contactless mobile payments to the U.S., but mobile payments in using various technologies are prime to blow up in several other markets around the world as well. Swedish wireless analyst firm Berg Insight on Thursday issued a report on mobile money in emerging markets, and the group believes adoption will skyrocket over the next four years. In 2010 there were 133 million people in emerging markets who used their cell phones to move money or pay for...

LG’s popular GSM KP500 “Cookie” may be making its debut in the Asia Pacific region as the CDMA-toting KX500. Thus far, the GSM Cookie has been a huge success for LG — selling over 2 million handsets worldwide since its launch in October 2008 — and its extension into the CDMA market will only help to boost those sales figures. The CDMA2000 1x-compatible Cookie appears to be similar to the GSM version in terms of specifications with the same 3-inch touchscreen display, 3 megapixel ...